Go here (actually just over there, to the right) for the PLOT page, this is the place that records all the events and info that has been accumulated regarding a variety of plot (maybe) points. Updated weekly- from now.

Also each week the guys will be summarising, deleting, joining together, or else adding to this list.

Oh, and yes there’s plenty going on but that’s because we’re at the start (still-ish), there’s a lot more to come which may bring some of these points together, and some of this info is just, well… info, not really plot at all.

The summaries are going to help a lot (I hope), as the guys are doing them, they will also give me the opportunity to see what they are thinking…

1) Recap in Brief.

Actually recap in very, very brief. The guys are back in Womford- the weather is strange (patches of snow over some areas, the rest of the land very mild for the time of year), and they have rescued Sir Gustav and his bride to be Rowan (alas the rest of the Paladin’s party are deceased). The guys have also made some marvellous discoveries in the Underdark- an ancient Bronzehammer Dwarf device (a magical battery), and met up again with their Drow friend Kal’Zerth. The guys, it seems, are also being pursued by a bunch of cultists (Stone Fist Monks, Stone Guards & Dark Stone Knights- the latter mounted on a Bulette).

And so to Womford…

2) Selling & Reporting in Womford.

The weather is cold in Womford, a little snow and a chill wind- about minus 2 or 3 degrees; which is about right for the time of the year, the 5th of Hammer. The guys scuttle about, it’s late afternoon and they have lots to do, the plan is to check in with all those that need to be seen and then head to Bargewright- to Dhol Kuldhir, the door at the end.

And so… there’s a mini game for the guys to sell all the bits and pieces of treasure they have located on their adventurers, this takes twenty or so minutes and via a modicum of role-play results in another 1,000 gp to distribute amongst the masses.

While the guys are hawking their various wares they are also stopping of to see various locals, either to report in or else to just have a chat.

Zalt goes for a visit with Jarett, the local fence that put the guys on to Gaelkur (head of the Wharf Rats- a bunch of ruffians/smugglers). Jarret was in fear for her life because she had basically grassed up Gaelkur (who’s even more dodgy than Jarett is, remember she’s a fence). The woman is pleased to see Zalt, and is soon reassured- she’s taking precautions.

Zyler and Grimm meanwhile go to see their Order of the Gauntlet mentor, who also just happens to be the Guard Captain for Womford- Soranna. The guys report back (and get a big tick on their report cards- mostly for rescuing the lost Paladin, Sir Gustav). Soranna is less delighted by Grimm and Zyler’s tales- stories of Devils, an Elf calling himself the Lord of War, strange weather, and an ancient magical Dwarven device.

The guys go on to make sense of the two secret notes they have received so far, and compare the info in these to other notes and clues they have found- yeah, we’re in a plot-break.

Note #1, found on Larrakh, the Stone Priest worshipped and obeyed by the Believers in the ancient (Bronzehammer?) tunnels beneath Red Larch- home to a bunch of Moving Stones.

In translation-

L
send more
details
who are these
heroes
what do they
want
report
K

The guys have this to say-

The heroes in question are they, I mean them… I mean WTF! The PCs are the heroes mentioned in the note.

L is Larrakh, the Stone Priest they killed in the Temple of the Moving Stones beneath Red Larch.

K is the High or Eye Lord, a Bugbear- this fellow seems to be in spreading the worship of Tiamat, and fermenting trouble- flying around on his Manticore. He’s the big bad.

And Note #2, found in the Bronzehammer ruins, in the same chamber as the disappeared Elf, the Lord of War.

In translation-

Lord W
we need more
time
support
D and D-—————
create more
terrors-—————
we are not
ready yet
to attack
K

Lord W is the Lord of War- the disappearing Elf.

D and D are Dick & Dom, the Ettin the guys chased off from its tower just to the south west of Womford.

‘Create more terrors’ maybe something to do with the Pale Gnolls the guys have been encountering- actually they’d know the answer to this if they could only remember what the captured Gnoll told them, when they managed to rescue Sir Gustav’s Squire…

Somebody is going to get attacked- that doesn’t sound good.

K is, as above, the Eye or High Lord, the Bugbear chap.

There follows lots of chatter, cut short (a little) because the guys have to get on- the plan is still on to Bargewright, and then come back for an extended chat with the Womford Council sometime in the near future.

Next up Ken Lee goes to his mentor Sertiernen, the Halfling Wizard- this involves much more chatter- as above; and yet more questions that cannot be answered. The pair also discuss the odd weather, although again they draw no ‘new’ conclusions- save for the fact that the pair are certain that magic is involved.

Lastly Lord Thaelond goes to see Kellin Shadowbanks, a small time (he’s a Halfling) crook who runs the Old Bridge Inn. Basically Kellin wants to ask if there’s anything he can do for Lord Thaelond- while he’s rediscovering his lust for adventure. Perhaps Lord T would like to put Kellin in charge of Bargewright (the town and Inn) while he’s on the move.

Lord T gets chicken and chips, a few drinks and well fed; he’ll make a decision later- although he’s happy for Kellin to accompany him on a visit to Bargewright, he is in fact heading there now. Kellin confesses he has heard some odd things about activity in Bargewright (no details), and also had a few visitors from the place on the 1st and 2nd of Hammer all of whom asking when Lord T would be coming back.

Most intriguing.

A short while later all of the guys, and their horses, take the last ferry across the Dessarin River, first stop is a visit to Avarthel the Druid, and Sqwelch his Lizardman companion- after that Bargewright and adventure. Lord Thaelond sends Kellin ahead of him to Bargewright, to pave the way for the Lord’s arrival.

And so chatting with the Emerald Enclave guys…

3) Avarthel & Sqwelch.

As it turns out this pair are desperate to talk to the guys, the duo have to be calmed down before they start to make any sense.

In brief Avarthel (the Druid) is concerned about the strange weather (we’ve been here before), he reports his findings-

The areas within the circles (not exactly, of course) have very local static weather conditions- cold and snowy. The areas outside of the circles (the rest of the map) are subject to much more pleasant weather conditions, particularly for the time of year.

There follows much more in the way of discussion- although, again, very little in the way of answers. Avarthel (and the guys) are to continue to investigate but all present are certain that this is magical- the weather is being controlled. Ken Lee suggests that the areas with the snow are all (except the one in the Forlorn Hills- see later) places they have been to. He also suggests that the places are all also home to Bronzehammer ruins.

Avarthel puts the cat amongst the pigeons, the thing that he finds odd is not the weather within the circles but the weather outside of the circles, from his way of thinking the odd weather is everywhere else… it should be cold and snowy everywhere.

Much scratching of heads follows.

And then we skip to the excited Lizardman, Sqwelch tells his tale (full of daring-do), basically he followed the Gargoyle from the Ettin’s tower to another ruined tower at the entrance to an ancient mountain/hill pass, an ancient Dwarven ruin (another one).

See the map above, head south of Womford to the bit where it says ‘Gargoyles’.

During his brief time keeping an eye on the place Sqwelch spotted at least half-a-dozen Gargoyles visiting, and then flying off again; and a little while later the arrival of a mighty looking Bugbear mounted on a Manticore. It seems High/Eye Lord K is in the Forlorn Hills. Alas the Bugbear was not alone, he was accompanied by a bunch of masked men riding Giant Vultures (not good), a little later a squad (how many?) of Hobgoblins also turned up (or they could have been there already- Sqwelch isn’t sure). Also of interest was the fact that a little later a Chimera (Trimat, possibly) flew in, the creature was also carrying two bodies in its talons- the first a Giant Owl (actually just the head of the beast), the second a dead humanoid. After close questioning the Lizardman remembers that the humanoid body was wrapped in a cloak that seemed to be made of feathers.

The answers, it seems, to many of the Union’s questions about what is going on here is in the Forlorn Hills, right now.

Sqwelch departed the ruins soon after, when he spotted Hobgoblin patrols being sent out into the wilds where he was hidden. The Lizardman took the shortest route he knew back to Womford, he only arrived in town this morning. Sqwelch is keen to get on- he hates Goblins, and that includes Hobgoblins and Bugbears.

The guys are up for it- and are also concerned that they have perhaps located Lady Savra, sister of the beautiful female Paladin, Lady Lara, the guys met while competing in the Ironwrought. The Paladin was searching for her missing sister who had left Waterdeep with her unit of Hippogriff riders (Owl/Hippogriff- could Sqwelch have got it wrong?).

And so it gets to debating- several of the guys want to hit the road now- others want to see the ‘door at the end’ beneath Bargewright, Lord T. definitely wants to head home (if only briefly).

It’s at this point that the DM reminds the PCs that they had just taken the last ferry across the river.

Bargewright it is then- however the guys will be back just as soon as they’ve had a decent night’s sleep, in a bed, and sorted out things at Bargewright. They are really stacking planes here…

4) Infection in Bargewright.

The town is a mess- admittedly it doesn’t help that it looks to have been snowing, and at times heavily, since the Union has last been here (five days ago). The streets are not covered in snow drifts and a morass of mud- and in the middle of the thoroughfare at the main gate (which is wide open) a trio of men fight in the shit and filth. Lord T is not happy, although managing to keep his anger in check, the trio of combatants are eventually separated- two of them turn out to be gate guards, the third is an old man. The cause and the subject of the argument is trivial, all combatants appear to be drunk- one flees, one collapses (unconscious), the last is made to mumble incoherently.

While this is going on the guys spot another inhabitant of Bargewright, naked from the waist down, chasing a chicken- the odd fellow appears briefly several times- glimpsed between buildings. Things are very strange- eventually the mumbling guard, who is still making no sense, is ordered by LOrd T. to go and get the Guard Captain, he departs to do so (actually he just runs off).

The Union continue on towards the Inn, at the centre of the settlement, Lord Thaelond’s palace (as it were).

En route they encounter a man haranguing a cow, in-between forlorn protestations of his love for the beast- things are very odd indeed. The man turns out be the Guard Captain, Lord T eventually convinces the fellow that the cow loves him back- the pair depart wreathed in smiles.

In the meantime the lab boys have finally twigged- Zyler, Zalt and Ken Lee are about their magic and medicine- several Skill Checks (two of which are ‘20’) and spells/rituals later and the trio are convinced that the citizens of Bargewright (at least the ones they have met so far) are suffering from some fungal poisoning. They have also been drinking- Zyler even remembers back to a time in his youth in Mirabar when an entire Dwarven Hold was affected in a similar malaise, he remembers that the victim’s pain and disorientation was only assuaged by the consumption of further toxins (alcohol).

Bargewright is infected!

The guys take precations, as best they can, and head on to Bargewright Inn.

En route they encounter Kellin Shadowbanks, sent ahead by Lord T, the dodgy Halfling has had his hands tied and then been strapped to a goat. The animal is seen several times charging around the streets, that is until Zyler gets in the creature’s way and rescues Kellin, the Halfling says that he was grabbed by a couple of Guards and tied to the goat ‘for a laugh’, the Guards seemed to be very drunk.

He too is of the opinion that all is not well in Bargewright.

5) Bargewright Shut Down.

The Inn is an absolute disgrace, with unconscious folk outside of it lying around in the freezing cold and snow- dead drunk (although not yet dead). The place is a mess- and inside fifty or so inhabitants of the town (including the guy Lord T left in charge- Randolph) are engaged in chorusing popular tunes- ‘Agadoo’, ‘Bat out of Hell’, etc.

Lord T takes charge- he calls for silence and then delivers a stirring rendition of ‘Whisky in the Jar’, the crowd go wild- in the meantime several of the guys lead by Zyler (after Zalt gets his Detect Poison and Disease spell/ritual going) start to get rid of any substance they can find that detects as being infected- which is just about every consumable in the place, including the water.

Zalt and Ken Lee, in the meantime, discover that the source of the infection is the consumables stored in the cellars of the Inn, and that the infection it seems is cocncentrated in the area in which the ancient, previously undiscovered, entrance to the Bronzehammer mines is located, the way down to Dhol Kuldhir. The guys remember that Kal’Zerth told them that the Bronzehammer Dwarves unleashed an infection into the Underdark a millennia past.

Damn, they’re really going to have to go adventuring down there again- they can’t put it off any longer; however they also have to figure out what to do about Bargewright.

The players are however very clever chaps.

Grimm’s holy healing powers enable him to cure the infection on Randolph, the guy Lord T left in charge, the fellow- once he’s sobered up falls to his knees to beg Lord T’s forgiveness. Randolph tells his tale- basically a couple of days after Lord T and the guys departed he started to feel a bit funny, the rest of that day is a little bit of a blur… and after that- nothing, he has no idea what he has been up to for the last two days.

With Randolph’s help the guys locate a storeroom (away from the Inn) with a supply of hard tack (trail rations) and a secondary water supply- none of it is infected. This place is locked up tight- nobody gets in.

Next up Grimm cures a few more members of the Guard, including the Guard Captain, and then Lord T patiently explains to his customers that the bar is closed and all of the beer drunk; over the course of the next few hours the guys get the people in the Inn (and outside of the Inn in the snow) safely home, or just out of the Inn.

Bargewright Inn is boarded up, and the cured Guards take turns watching as the Union, at last, takes an extended rest. The next morning Zyler is up early, and with his Purify Food & Drink Ritual is disinfecting all the food and drink. The Inn, and the town, will be locked down for the next few days.

Time enough for the guys to check out the passages beneath the Inn- Randolph, and Kellin, are left in charge on the surface. Time for adventure, again.

6) Beneath Bargewright & Old Friends.

The guys head down into the cellar and clear the way through to the passage they discovered earlier there (they covered it up with barrels and supplies when they left it earlier- so no-one would go down it). Once the guys get the barrels and crates shifted the source of the infection becomes obvious- ropey fungal tendrils cling to the walls, floor and ceiling of the passage- they weren’t there before.

Eventually the Union head in- Lord T leading the way, sneaking ahead of his companions. The Rogue discovers the place is pretty much just as they left it, save for three things- the dead Kobold bodies have begun to sprout fungi and toadstools, the great fungi vines are everywhere, and the air is thick with spores- and slightly warm.

There follows ten minutes of further checks- the guys are not heading in if the air is fouled (infected) or poisonous; eventually the Union come to the conclusion that extended exposure would not be a good thing, but a few hours in the filthy place would have no long term effects. Again the source of the contamination, Zyler is certain, is the fungus growths.

Therefore the guys follow the tendrils through the partially collapsed (thanks to Ken Lee) mine, all the way back to the chamber they first met Kel’Zerth, the bridge that leads over to the stairs down to Dhol Kuldhir.

The chamber is empty, although Zalt warns the other guys that Kal’Zerth said that he had left a ‘Guardian’ here.

The Union creep inside, and are halfway across the bridge when a great loud rings out from the darkness below the bridge.

“STOP! YOUHAVE NO PERMISSION TO BE HERE. IDENTIFYYOURSELF OR FACEDESTRUCTION!”

The guys identify themselves quickly, and moments later are being hugged (well, perhaps not hugged- high-fived by an eye stalk) by an old friend- Wupert, the Spectator, is back.

Wupert, actually Rupert, an old friend (see Phandelin adventure).

There is much rejoicing, and giggling, after the chatter the guys get to questions- Wupert tells them what he knows, he was hired/summoned by the Drow (Kal’Zerth), nothing has passed up or down the stairs- save for the vines which grew up the stairs very rapidly, across the room, and out into the mine. Rupert’s determined that the fungal vines were plant life, and therefore not within the parameters of his orders, he let them be.

The way down, the stairs beyond are ancient- and they seem to go a long way down (as do the fungal vines- all the way to the bottom). Down below the base of the stairs is lit by some purplish furze.

But that’s enough for now- next session, Dhol Kuldhir, and the door at the end- maybe.

New Info- About Womford- reporting back and selling up; then stories from Avarthel (the Druid) and his Lizardman companion Sqwelch- about the strange weather, and the Gargoyle Sqwelch was following. The guys are keen for Sqwelch to take them to the Forlorn Hills. Then to Bargewright- the town is infected, the Union to the rescue, and then into the Bronzehammer Mines, heading for Dhol Kuldhir- the source of the infection?